Young striker joins Town on loan from Reading until the end of the Season
Shrewsbury Town are delighted to announce the signing of 20-year-old striker Sam Smith on loan until the end of the season.
After signing his first professional contract with Reading in the summer of 2016, Smith spent a loan spell with Bishop’s Stortford whilst also scoring seven goals in 20 appearances for Reading's Under-23s side for that age group as an 18-year-old.
Smith joined Oxford United on-loan at the start of the season and made 23 appearances for the U's before being recalled.
Sam Ricketts told Shrewsweb how delighted he was to have completed the deal.
“Sam is a young player who works incredibly hard and obviously has ability on top of that as well. He has a great attitude, will have a good character around the training ground and he works hard.
“He spent the first-half of the season on-loan with Oxford but it didn’t work out for whatever reason.
“I am looking for him to come here and show everyone his quality and part of that is how hard he works.
“He’s a relentless forward and that’s an important trait if you want to be good. I have seen him chase down lost causes, he’s left footed and can score goals.
“It’s an opportunity for him to come here and showcase his talents and that works well both ways.
“It’s been good for him to be out on-loan already – experiencing league football and he’s also played a few games for Reading, so he has obviously got pedigree.
“It’s an opportunity for him to come here and learn and showcase his ability.”
Sam will wear the number 17 shirt for the remainder of the season.